Even though I tested Greed previously for wear, I found the full-size version to be more pigmented and the overall finish of the product seemed different to me. I tested and photographed Greed just this past October, but the full-sized version has more of a metallic finish with a stronger sheen.

The finish is quite similar to Sin’s, but I specifically mentioned in the previous post on Greed that it had more of a shimmer than frost finish. Because Greed has more of a metallic finish, it reflects more light, but the color itself is still a beautiful pale yellow gold. I was, however, still able to wear Greed all day on its own or as an eyeshadow base without creasing.

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Product: 28/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: I think warm-toned beauties will find this works really well as a base or an all-over color for quick looks.

AVAILABILITY: January 2011 at urbandecay.com, early February 2011 at Beauty.com, Macy’s, Sephora, ULTA

Urban Decay Spring 2011: Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints

Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints ($24.00 for 0.14 oz.) are a new way to get a hint of color with the “glow of a cream without any greasy feel.” The shades have “lightweight, sheer, buildable color” that can be used on bare skin or over foundation. There are seven shades: Bang (sheer coral red), Crush (sheer hot pink), Fetish (sheer mauve with fine pearlized finish), Greedy (sheer blackberry), Indecent (sheer apricot with pearly gold shimmer), Quickie (sheer bubble-pop-electric pink), and Score (sheer pink lemonade with fine pearlized finish).

Bang is a sheer darkened orange–almost like a burnt orange but not burnt in a bad way. I think this is a shade suitable for medium to dark skin tones, likely with yellower undertones.

Crush is a semi-bright Barbie pink. It seems to blend seamlessly against my warmer complexion in a way that makes it look natural, and I think it’s due to the very subtle blue undertone.

Fetish is a pinked mauve with soft white shimmer. It looks more like a soft rose on my cheeks, and the shimmer is detectable but not overpowering.

Greedy is a cool-toned purple-berry. It looks intimidating in the pan, but like all of the shades, it is sheer, so it is more workable. I think this is a shade that suits cooler skin tones in particular.

Indecent is a shimmering peach-orange with soft gold shimmer. On me, it kind of disappears, but it gives a natural glow/flush that I do like. Lighter skin tones will see more color pay off, though.

Quickie is a cotton candy pink with blue undertones and a light white shimmer. Despite the bluer undertones, it doesn’t look too cool or pale on my skin tone.

Score is a rosy pink-brown with pale champagne shimmer. I’m not sure what about this is really “pink lemonade.” On my medium skin tone, this gives a slight rosiness to cheeks, but it would work better on lighter skin tones.

I always find that cheek stains/tints always do better on bare skin than on foundation-covered skin, and it held true (for me) when I was testing out these new tints. They are touted as a tint, and there is nothing in the marketing materials that speaks on expected wear time. With shimmering shades, wear definitely seemed reduced with three to four hours of nice wear, but then some fading as the day worn on. For the shimmer-less shades, wear was better and gave four to six hours of color and began fading thereafter. I could extend the wear (for either finish) by another hour or so by applying it directly on bare skin. (I, unfortunately, do not have perfect or anywhere close to perfect skin, so I don’t see myself wearing the tints on their own very often.)

They are very easy to use, and Urban Decay is right when they say they are difficult to mess up. These blend into the skin very well, just with fingertips alone, but they also worked well with a small stippling brush (I used MAC’s 188). My preferred method of application is to use a brush to deposit the color on the cheeks and a (clean) fingertip to blend out the edges.

These can be used on the lips, but they work best on freshly exfoliated lips. I also felt like I needed several swipes of product to get enough to give my lips a boost in color. I don’t feel like it works much like a stain, because it easily wipes off (napkins, coffee cups). The consistency is also thin, so it does not seem to lock moisture in. It has a slightly creamy, but more gel-like consistency and texture–I would say they are a cross between MAC’s Cremeblends (that were limited edition) and Tarte’s Cheek Stains. They would also be comparable to Stila’s Convertible Color.

When compared to Tarte’s Cheek Stains, these are a lot less for your money, but against other high-end brands (like NARS, Stila, etc.) for cream or gel blushes, Urban Decay’s pricing/quantity seems to be right there on average.

All seven shades looked natural, and all but Indecent gave my medium skin tone noticeable color. I see Crush, Fetish, and Quickie being popular amongst most skin tones. Indecent is lovely for fairer skin tones or as a highlighter on medium to dark skin tones. I like Bang and Quickie for cooler skin tones, while Bang and Indecent seem best for warmer skin tones.

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Product: 25/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: If you are a fan of Tarte’s Cheek Stains, I think you will like these. They have a similar consistency, but they come in pot form.

Clinic is a rich, jewel-tone teal with green-teal sheen and light silver sparkle. It is similar to Covet 24/7 Liner, but Clinic seems more green-based.

Narc is a darkened grassy green tinged with olive dusted with gold sparkle. It compares best with Mildew 24/7 Liner, but it is noticeably greener and warmer.

Clash is a brilliant bright blue with silver sparkle. It is extremely similar to Electric 24/7 Liner–if I look closely, it seems like Clash is slightly brighter.

Delinquent is deep purple violet with lilac sparkle. It’s such a stunning jewel-tone shade. It is completely different from Lust 24/7 Liner, and it doesn’t compare to Ransom 24/7 Liner either.

Morphine is an iridescent cool-toned bluish-lilac with some fuchsia in its base. I thought it might compare to Asphyxia 24/7 Liner, but it’s much, much lighter, more iridescent, and really does not have much in common with Asphyxia.

Of this set, Delinquent and Morphine are the most unique, while the other four have similar shades in the 24/7 Liner line. This is predicated on you already owning the liner counterparts and not feeling the need to spring for jumbo-sized versions to use as an eyeshadow base. The 24/7 Liners are still much easier to use as eyeliners, because they are smaller and therefore more precise and suited for the lash line. However, you do get significantly more bang for your buck with the 24/7 Shadows, so if you don’t own one of the 24/7 Liners that compares but always wanted to, perhaps the 24/7 Shadow version will serve you well.

These really do feel like jumbo-sized 24/7 Liners–they are smooth, creamy, and glide across the lid with ease. I will say that these seem more pigmented than the 24/7 Liners. You really get true color with one stroke, and even lighter shades go on opaque. I wore Clinic (to-be-reviewed) on one eye and Midnight Cowboy on the other eye for twelve hours yesterday, and I didn’t experience any creasing. I wore them both all over the lid and above the crease, applied with the pencil itself, and straight on the lid (no primer).

I later wore just Rehab all over the lid and above the crease, blended out with fingertips, with Rehab over Urban Decay’s Primer Potion on one lid and by itself on the other. This test was more about blendability and how it would work over a base. It dries down quickly; it’s smudgeable and blendable for 15-20 seconds, but you’ll want to work pretty fast if you’re blending two or more of the Shadow Pencils together. Lighter shades like Sin, Lit, and Midnight Cowboy are beautiful all-over lid shades–for those mornings where all you have are two minutes to spare.

They are shorter than 24/7 Liners (just over 5.5″), but they are definitely fatter–they also contain over twice the product (.10 oz. vs. 0.04 oz.) and only cost $3 more ($20 vs. $17). In terms of high-end products, they compare to NARS Shadow Pencils in look (doesn’t migrate), but they perform well, like MAC Shade Sticks (creamier, though). I’m pleasantly surprised at how the price/quantity worked out here. All in all, I’m liking these so far, and they make excellent colored eyeshadow bases that can also double as eyeliner. So far, I’ve found they adhere well to the lid without creasing or fading.

P.S. — I have to see what NYX pencils I have, but I will try to do some comparisons later this weekend (school all day).

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Product: 29/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 5/5

RECOMMENDATION: If you like Urban Decay’s 24/7 Liners, I think you’ll like these. Whether you use these as eyeliner or as an eyeshadow, they work as well, if not better, than the 24/7 Liners–since they’re more pigmented.

Sin is a light-medium pink-beige champagne with a frosted sheen. It swatched very comparably to Sin Primer Potion–it seemed less frosty.

Lit is a softened orange-gold with a frosted sheen. It’s actually similar to Guerlain’s Gold Eyeliner, but it has no similarity to either Eldorado (which is a yellow gold) or Baked (much darker, bronzy).

Midnight Cowboy is a medium beige with flecks of gold glitter. The glitter seems finer than what is in the eyeshadow. I was crossing my fingers that this would resemble Midnight Cowboy 24/7 Liner (which is exclusive to the 24/7 Liner Anniversary Set), but it’s not. The liner is definitely lighter, a little warmer.

Rehab is a dark red-toned chocolate brown with a smidgen of taupe. It is similar to Underground 24/7 Liner–a hair darker, cooler, perhaps, but it could be a potential skip in lieu of other shades that are less similar.

Wasteland is a cool-toned olive brown with fine gold shimmer. It didn’t match up with any of the 24/7 Liners. It’s more like a mix of Stash and Bourbon but compares to neither alone.

Mercury is a silvered gray with frosted sheen. It seemed warmer when swatched next to Gunmetal 24/7 Liner, which also looks bluer.

These really do feel like jumbo-sized 24/7 Liners–they are smooth, creamy, and glide across the lid with ease. I will say that these seem more pigmented than the 24/7 Liners. You really get true color with one stroke, and even lighter shades go on opaque. I wore Clinic (to-be-reviewed) on one eye and Midnight Cowboy on the other eye for twelve hours yesterday, and I didn’t experience any creasing. I wore them both all over the lid and above the crease, applied with the pencil itself, and straight on the lid (no primer).

I later wore just Rehab all over the lid and above the crease, blended out with fingertips, with Rehab over Urban Decay’s Primer Potion on one lid and by itself on the other. This test was more about blendability and how it would work over a base. It dries down quickly; it’s smudgeable and blendable for 15-20 seconds, but you’ll want to work pretty fast if you’re blending two or more of the Shadow Pencils together. Lighter shades like Sin, Lit, and Midnight Cowboy are beautiful all-over lid shades–for those mornings where all you have are two minutes to spare.

I thought it was interesting that there was very little overlap in the names. It seems like Urban Decay often uses the same names (and the corresponding shade) across product types (e.g. Ransom 24/7 Liner, Ransom Eyeshadow), but most of these are new names. Meaningless in terms of the product itself, but it made me curious as to what else we might see from Urban Decay in 2011. It also made me curious given that there are some shades that are rather close to existing 24/7 Liners.

They are shorter than 24/7 Liners (just over 5.5″), but they are definitely fatter–they also contain over twice the product (.10 oz. vs. 0.04 oz.) and only cost $3 more ($20 vs. $17). In terms of high-end products, they compare to NARS Shadow Pencils in look (doesn’t migrate), but they perform well, like MAC Shade Sticks (creamier, though). I’m pleasantly surprised at how the price/quantity worked out here. All in all, I’m liking these so far, and they make excellent colored eyeshadow bases that can also double as eyeliner. So far, I’ve found they adhere well to the lid without creasing or fading.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!

Product: 29/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 5/5

RECOMMENDATION: If you like Urban Decay’s 24/7 Liners, I think you’ll like these. Whether you use these as eyeliner or as an eyeshadow, they work as well, if not better, than the 24/7 Liners–since they’re more pigmented but wear just as well.